More than a quarter (26%) of B2B marketers in the technology sector plan to look for a new employer in the next 12 months, according to a study by Spiceworks, a professional network for IT.

The 2017 Tech Marketer Career Outlook explores the career outlook among B2B marketers in the technology industry, including careers changes they expect to make, what makes them happy in the workplace, and the skills necessary to succeed in today’s challenging B2B landscape.

The study revealed that 18% of tech marketers plan to accept a new job within the next year, while 65% are happy in their current jobs.

The findings, analysed across three generations of marketers – millennials, Generation X, and baby boomers – indicate millennials are the least happy in their jobs and more likely to search for a new employer.

Sanjay Castelino, VP of marketing and revenue operations at Spiceworks, said: “Most tech marketers are happy in their jobs, but they’re also optimistic about the current job market and the opportunity to advance their skillset in a new position.

“Less than half of marketers are advanced in the core skillsets that are important today, such as content marketing, digital media, and data analysis, so it’s logical many are looking to find new opportunities that can equip them with the skills they need to excel in the future.”

Job satisfaction

The results show 65% of B2B marketers are happy in their current job and among those 35% are very to extremely happy. However, the generational data shows millennial marketers are less happy in the workplace. 29% of millennial marketers reported being very to extremely happy in their current job compared to nearly 40% of Gen X and baby boomer marketers.

Millennial marketers have also been with their current employers for a shorter amount of time. A majority of millennials (56%) have been at their current jobs for less than three years while only one-third of Gen X and baby boomer marketers have been with their employers for less than three years. In fact, many Gen X (39%) and baby boomer (34%) marketers have been with their current employers for five or more years compared to only 14% of millennials.

Career changes

26% of marketers plan to begin searching for a new job in the next 12 months, but when examining the results by generation, it’s evident baby boomers are less likely to leave their current place of work than younger generations. 20% of baby boomers plan to look for a new job compared to 25% of Gen X and 29% of millennial marketers.

Millennial marketers are more likely to search for a new job, but they’re also more optimistic about the current job market. 57% of millennial marketers believe the job market is favourable for B2B marketers seeking employment compared to 47% of Gen X and 46% of baby boomer marketers.

Among marketers looking to switch jobs, 66% plan to leave in order to advance their marketing skills while 58% plan to find a better salary. When comparing the results by generations, the findings indicate millennial marketers are more concerned with finding a better salary, a better job title, and better employee perks. Millennial marketers are also more likely to leave their jobs due to burnout. Conversely, Gen X marketers are more concerned with securing a bigger marketing budget while baby boomers are more likely to seek better benefits.

Critical skills

When examining which skills are the most critical for success, the results show 82% of marketers believe soft skills, such as communication and people management, are very to extremely important. 80% of marketers also believe writing skills are highly important, followed by content marketing (78%), digital media (77%), data analysis (77%), and email marketing (65%).

While most marketers said they’re advanced in the two most important skills (soft skills and writing), less than half of marketers said they’re advanced in content marketing (46%), which is considered the third most important skill. Additionally, only 38% of marketers are advanced in digital media and only 41% are advanced in data analysis, the fourth and fifth most important skills, respectively.

When comparing the results by generation, the findings indicate millennials are less advanced in their writing and soft skills, but more advanced in their social media capabilities. Gen X marketers are more advanced in data analysis and search engine optimisation, while baby boomers are more advanced in influencer marketing.